SubscribeLet's face it - at some point in time you're going to need to send your designs to someone who doesn't have AutoCAD...so what is your preferred method of choice? I'd say most of us choose one of the following three:
1) Print the drawing out and physically mail it (save the Rainforest!)
2) Convert the drawing to PDF and email it (Ouch that filesize is so big!)
3) Convert the drawing to DWF.
So I'm offering up my plug to select Door #3 here...DWF files are Smarter, Smaller and Simpler...and you don't have to purchase any extra software to create a DWF file like you do with that "other" file format. It's easy to publish your design as a DWF out of any Autodesk design application. Then tell your extended team members to simply download the free DWF viewer from the Autodesk website or you can get it right here: Free DWF Viewer.
Cadalyst magazine recently posted some DWF images for multiple disciplines in the Cadalyst Gallery. You'll also find a great article about the new Autodesk DWF Composer 2 that lets you easily mark up your DWF files and send the mark-ups back into AutoCAD for quick turn-around. Visit Autodesk DWF Composer article for more info.
I definitely realize that PDF is the best format for many types of files, we use it all the time in my office. But when it comes to your design information - DWF is a much better route to take. You spend all that time working hard on your drawings - why would you risk sending them out in a second-rate format? You want your drawings to shine! You wouldn't print them out on a dot-matrix printer would you?
Over 7 million of the DWF viewers have been downloaded from www.autodesk.com. Go check out what all the fuss is about!
I'm off to the last step of the Realize Your Ideas Tour tomorrow in Puerto Rico - it's not going to be quite the same without Guy Kawasaki but we'll do our best to make it a fantastic event!